Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Hasakah slams Turkey for complicit in the abduction of dozens of Syrian Christians by DAESH

(PressTV, 25/2/2015) ~ A prominent Syrian bishop says Turkey is complicit in the abduction of dozens of Syrian Christians by ISIL terrorists.

Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Hasakah-Nisibi said on Wednesday that Turkey is to blame for the recent abduction of at least 150 Assyrian Christians from villages in the border areas.

Jacques Behnan Hindo, who was speaking with the Vatican Radio, said Turkey is openly cooperating with ISIL Takfiri terrorists when it comes to transferring oil, wheat and cotton stolen by the terrorists.

“In the north, Turkey allows through lorries, Daesh (ISIL) militants, oil stolen from Syria, wheat and cotton. All of these can cross the border but nobody [from the Christian community] can pass over.”

He strongly criticized Turkey for its refusal to permit entry to the Christians who have been exposed to the threat of ISIL militants.

“Every day, families are emigrating from Damascus by plane because of the blockade we have around us,” the bishop said.

More than a million Christians lived in Syria before the foreign-backed militancy erupted in the Arab country in 2011. Members of the Assyrian community, with a population of around 30,000 people, are mostly based in the northeastern Hasakah Province near the Turkish border.

Pope Francis (pictured above) has repeatedly expressed concern about the mass emigration of the Assyrians from Syria, which, according to him, could decimate the community of the Assyrians in the country.

Kurdish forces along with government troops and ISIL militants control parts of Hasakah. The Kurds, who have made considerable gains in operations against ISIL in the border areas between Turkey and Syria, have vowed to purge the Takfifi militants from the region.

Mardin Mort Schmuni Church in Mardin, southeastern Turkey. The Christian Assyrian community in Turkey, which now numbers no more than a several thousand, has been hit by wave after wave of immigration even since the foundation the modern Turkish state in 1923 out of the ruins of the multi-ethnic Ottoman Empire.

Vatican Accuses Turkey Over Syrian Christians Abduction

(Alalam, 25/2/2015) ~ A prominent bishop on Wednesday accused Turkey of preventing Christians from fleeing Syria while allowing terrorists responsible for their persecution to cross its border unchecked.

Jacques Behnan Hindo, the Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Hasakeh-Nisibi, made the claim on Vatican Radio, a day after the ISIS group abducted at least 150 Assyrian Christians from villages which had been under the control of Kurdish forces.

“Every day, families are emigrating from Damascus by plane because of the blockade we have around us,” the bishop said.

“In the north, Turkey allows through lorries, Daesh (ISIS) fighters, oil stolen from Syria, wheat and cotton: all of these can cross the border but nobody (from the Christian community) can pass over.”

The abducted Christians were part of Syria’s tiny Assyrian community, which is mostly based in Hasakeh province near the Turkish border.

There were just 30,000 Assyrians in Syria before the country’s conflict erupted in March 2011.

At that point Syria had an estimated total Christian population of around 1.2 million people. Pope Francis is among those who have voiced fears the community could be decimated by mass emigration as a result of the conflict.

Control of Hasakeh is currently divided between Kurdish forces and ISIS fighters.

The bishop said he was hopeful the ISIS offensive which led to the kidnappings would soon be over “because the Kurds are gathering their forces to go and fight them.”

But it is reported that ISIS militants are planning to murder 150 Christian hostages they kidnapped after sweeping through villages in Syria if the U.S. does not stop air strikes, it has been reported.

Nearly 1,000 Assyrian Christian families have fled their homes in northeastern Syria after terrorists kidnapped dozens of members of their community, an activist said on Wednesday.

Osama Edward, director of the Sweden-based Assyrian Human Rights Network, said they had fled in fear after terrorists from the ISIS group took the Assyrian Christians hostage early this week.

NOTICE TO READERS

These infos are not intended to be shocking or to glorify violence in any way. These articles/images/videos are for educational purposes only, for documenting and try to explain the backdrop of a historical ruthless and bloody war, whose characteristics and details are routinely distorted and smothered by the dominant media.